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Sporting News, The, Jan 15, 1996 by Shaun Powell

The poll will stay open until June, but all other candidates might want to concede right now.

Those two remaining jerseys for the '96 Olympic team? Toss one to Kings guard Mitch Richmond. Then find out what size Shawn Kemp wears.

Richmond should be a no-brainer for the selection committee. He is the league's bestkept secret of the '90s, which isn't exactly a title Richmond wants to embrace. That's about as attractive to a player as calling him the game's most underpaid or underappreciated.

But whenever Richmond is slighted it has nothing to do with the player himself and everything to do with things Richmond can't control. He plays in a small-market city. He plays for a franchise that, until now, was a fixture at the bottom of the standings. He doesn't appear on NBC on Sundays. He doesn't tell jokes, have cute sneaker commercials, dye his hair green or subscribe to self-promotion.

Richmond is no-frills. He just plays. And that is precisely why the Olympic selection committee should sign him.

The selection committee took a very clear approach to choosing the '96 team. Professional behavior became a high criterion after the hijinks of young and spoiled stars ruined the image of the U.S. team two years ago at the World Championships in Toronto. That was no Dream Team; that was a Scream Team. After every dunk or blocked shot, several players felt compelled to embarrass the overmatched competition with yells or trash talk or chest thumps or anything else they could improvise on the fly.

Richmond talks a good game, meaning he allows his performances to speak for themselves. Through Sunday, he was averaging 22 points, including 47 in a December 15 game against the Rockets. He routinely comes up big in the clutch even though everyone in the building knows he's getting the ban. But Richmond also is a relentless rebounder and a physical defender.

Richmond is enjoying another fine season, and the Kings are challenging the Sonics for the division lead. But based on the latest All-Star fan vote results -- Richmond isn't ranked among the top seven guards -- you wouldn't know it.

"I think those that have already voted should be treated like the (snowball-throwing) New York Grants' season-ticket holders," says Kings personnel director Jerry Reynolds. "Find out those who didn't vote for Mitch and take away their voting privileges."

Kemp is about two months of good behavior away from earning the other spot He was as guilty as anyone of mugging for the cameras in Toronto. But he deserves a second chance, because Kemp is no longer a manchild, just a man.

He has made more of a commitment to the game and himself. Over the summer he shed 25 pounds and is taking fitness seriously. He improved the most deficient part of his game and has become a better (and more willing) passer. Those are the signs that suggest Kemp has taken the necessary leap in maturity.

Sonics Coach George Karl who has feuded with Kemp and begged Owner Barry Ackerly to trade Kemp for Scottie Pippen two years ago, is pushing hard for Kemp.

"Shawn has carried us," Karl says. "He's having an MVP year."

With injured forward Detlef Schrempf shelved since December, the Sonics have hardly faltered, mostly due to Kemp, who leads the league in rebounding and the Sonics in scoring. But Kemp says his absence from the Olympic team is not a driving force.

"I realize I'm still young and have to improve every year," Kemp says. "I don't really think about the Olympics. It's out of my hands. I just have to play.

"People used to ask me how long it would take for me to jell. Three years? Four years? Now I've been around for seven. Basically, I'm trying to bring everything together."

Kemp's competition will come mostly from Alonzo Mourning, another in-your-face teammate in Toronto; Chris Webber; and Juwan Howard. But mostly, Kemp's competition is himself.

The Olympic spot may be his to lose.

Beltway baby

Discouraged by his temper tantrums and overall immaturity, the Bullets held a meeting with Rasheed Wallace and his agent and basically told the rookie to get his act together, or else.

Wallace is confirming many of the fears NBA people held when he decided to leave North Carolina two years early. Some say Wallace was given the ol' Dean Smith Nudge, meaning Smith didn't want to put up with Wallace's nonsense any longer so he "recommended" Wallace try the NBA (see: J.R. Reid).

In his four-month NBA career, Wallace already has:

* cursed assistant Derek Smith;

* made himself a target of the refs by grabbing the league lead in technical fouls with nine

* pouted whenever given little playing time by Coach Jim Lynam.

In other words, Wallace has often acted like a big baby.

"We just needed the dialogue to clear the air," General Manager John Nash says.

The Bullets haven't called anyone about Wallace, but they would consider trading him; first-round picks have been dealt around this time before (see: Donyell Marshall). However, the team also is exploring deals for guard Calbert Cheaney, who hasn't made dramatic strides since his rookie season. Ledell Eackles and Tim Legler are doing just fine at big guard while Cheaney heals from an ankle injury.